Lucy leads the way as Central squad impress
Youngsters put on a show against very best of Britain
Central Scotland’s squash junior development squad joined their Scotland team-mates and coaches to attend the British Junior Championships and compete against the best talent from across the UK at the weekend.
A number of Bridge of Allan youngsters were among those taking part and with all the Central squad finishing above their pre-tournament seeding, the highlight of the weekend was Crieff ’s Lucy Murchie’s epic run to the girls’ under-17 quarter-final.
Lucy plays for BofA’s ladies team and Central coach Jane Martin said: “The kids did Central Scotland proud and everyone over-achieved. But not only will they have learned lots in terms of competing against the top players in the UK they also experienced what it is like to compete in tournament conditions away from home over a weekend.
“Lucy did well to make the last eight of a strong girls under-17 competition but Anna Halliday and Rowan Niven (both Crieff ) were outstanding in the girls under-15s and Florence Gibson (Crieff) underlined how much she has come along in the girls under-13s.
“In terms of the boys, Bridge of Allan’s Kyle Penman and Rory Campbell showed real maturity in the under-15s with Kyle also having to compete with a slight injury he really was a trooper.
“Also well done to Oliver Hunter (Bridge of Allan) who gave it everything in the boys’ under13s.”
Meanwhile it was a mixed week for the Bridge of Allan Sports club teams, sponsored by The Allanwater Brewhouse, in the East of Scotland Leagues.
The firsts lost a tight 3-2 to Watsonians 1 in Division One with gut-wrenching four-set defeats for skipper Iain Logan and Roddy Campbell in mid-order proving the difference between success and failure after straight set triumphs for Dougie Kempsell and Blair Christie.
The seconds – also in Division One – were outgunned 4-1 by ESC 3 with only number one Fergus Richards coming out on top.
However, the thirds remain unbeaten in Division Four after a 5-0 whitewash of Dalgety Bay 2 that maintains their secondplace status in the fourth tier, just 10 points adrift of leaders Watsonians IV with a game in hand.
Skipper Stewart Penman said: “It was vital we made the most of home advantage to keep the heat on Watsonians. With another home game against Dean tonight we will be fielding another strong side determined to claim our fifth win on the bounce.”
Meanwhile skipper Sheena Logan has admitted her ladies side must bounce back with a win after successive losses to ESC and leaders Edinburgh University who are now 14 points in front of the Minewood girls.
Sheena said: “We have a really tricky trip to Waverley who are sitting just behind us in third place and really after two successive losses this one is must win.
“We have lost the momentum we had at the beginning of the season and that has largely been down to selection inconsistency caused by unavailability. But we are at a stage of the campaign when we must dig deep.”